According to theguardian.com, two men have been convicted of alleged murder in the 2002 slaying of Jam Master Jay, a member of hip-hop group Run-DMC. Earlier today, a Brooklyn jury found Karl Jordan Jr and Ronald Washington guilty, which prompted commotion in the courtroom. Both men had allegedly been charged with one count of alleged murder while engaged in alleged narcotics trafficking and one count of alleged firearm-related murder for the fatal shooting of Jason Mizell, better known as Jam Master Jay.
Defense attorneys for both men argued in their closing statements last week that no alleged physical evidence linked their clients to the fatal shooting, according to ABC affiliate station WABC. They reportedly implicated an alleged third person charged in the case, Jay Bryant, who is being tried separately and is expected to see a trial in 2025. While jury deliberations began last Thursday, a juror was subsequently dismissed and replaced, so deliberations had been pushed to Monday at 1pm.
“Twenty years is a long time to wait for justice,” the assistant US attorney Artie McConnell told jurors in a closing argument, imploring them: “Don’t let this go on for another minute.”
The charges, which were part of a 10-count indictment, included one count of alleged conspiracy to distribute cocaine and seven counts of alleged cocaine distribution for Jordan. Both Jordan and Washington pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors allegedly claimed that the fatal shooting allegedly happened in response to Mizell allegedly cutting Washington and Jordan out of a potentially lucrative cocaine distribution deal. They claimed that the men allegedly went to Mizell’s recording studio in Queens, where Jordan allegedly fired two shots at Mizell at close range that killed him.
The acting US attorney Seth DuCharme said in a statement announcing the charges: “The defendants allegedly carried out the cold-blooded murder of Jason Mizell, a brazen act that has finally caught up with them thanks to the dedicated detectives, agents and prosecutors who never gave up on this case.”
Mizell was the DJ in the influential rap group Run-DMC, which became a household name in the 1980s with hit songs like “It’s Tricky.” The group, which was founded in 1983, included Mizell, Joseph “Rev Run” Simmons and Darryl McDaniels. In 2009 they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for paving the way in new school hip hop music.
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